Malaysia offers a revealing view of the artificial intelligence (AI) productivity paradox. Nearly one in four workers already qualifies as a "Frontier Professional", someone who uses advanced AI tools to reshape daily work, compared with 16% globally. Seven in ten Malaysian AI users also say they now produce work they could not have created a year ago, according to Microsoft's 2026 Work Trend Index. Capability is rising quickly. A key question needs to be what this new capacity is producing beyond output. Are people better off? Is work more meaningful? Are communities and the environment benefitting? Our fixation on productivity above all else rests on five myths. Four are old. Generative AI gives them new speed and scale.

Opinion: The five myths behind our AI productivity fixation

MALAYSIA wants to become an AI nation. But before its leaders pursue that ambition, they need to answer a simpler question: growth towards what?

Opinion: Are you creating meaning in this uncertain world?

THE launch of AI Malaysia on July 28 was a consequential step. It gives the country’s artificial intelligence ambition an institutional home, signals political commitment and creates a national mechanism for turning plans into delivery.

Opinion: Is Malaysia failing to realise its potential to pioneer a different path to the hybrid future?

Somewhere in Kedah, a dam is running dry. Somewhere in Johor, a server farm is drawing more power, and more water, than the town next to it ever will. Malaysia's planners have tended to log these as separate entries, one under climate, one under growth.

Opinion: Why El Niño could expose the gap between digital ambition and national resilience

Malaysia's proposed AI Governance Bill arrives at a decisive moment. Artificial intelligence (AI) is moving into credit scoring, hiring, insurance, education, healthcare, logistics and public administration. And its environmental footprint is growing. For business, this looks like productivity. For society, it changes who decides, who explains, who benefits and who pays the hidden cost.

Opinion: Why the AI Governance Bill must do more than prevent harm

ARTIFICIAL intelligence is changing Malaysian business from the shop floor to the boardroom. The more important question is how people will learn to work with it across their entire life. Another software course will not be enough. Malaysia needs a lifelong journey in double literacy: human literacy, the ability to understand aspirations, emotions, thoughts, sensations, trust and belonging; and algorithmic literacy, the ability to understand how AI systems shape choices, workflows, risk and opportunity.

Opinion: The hybrid future starts in kindergarten

Malaysia does not need to wait for Silicon Valley to define the future of artificial intelligence (AI). It already has a moral language for markets, technology and human responsibility. The question is whether we will use it in time.

Opinion: AI, faith and Malaysia’s hybrid future

THE actual AI challenge begins before our machines are switched on. It begins in the values, habits and incentives that we, humans, bring to them. Much has been said and written about AI ethics and ethical AI. But what does it actually mean?

Opinion: Why ‘AI ethics’ is a double misnomer

Malaysia's fuel bill has become a practical business issue. In the May 7-13 fuel-price update, unsubsidised RON95 rose to RM4.02 per litre, and diesel in Peninsular Malaysia rose to RM5.17 per litre.

Opinion: When fuel prices sting, subsidies alone won't do

IN March 2026, Fortune reported that unpublished documents from Anthropic, the company behind Claude, were briefly exposed online because of a configuration mistake. Among the material was information about Claude Mythos, an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) model that Anthropic’s own preview later showed was highly capable at finding software flaws.

Opinion: When the firewall falls, leadership must stand

US crude stocks rose last week while fuel inventories fell following a drop in refining activity in the Midwest, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

US crude inventories rise, fuel stocks fall as refining slips — EIA

The US might consider leaving the International Energy Agency (IEA) if there is no alignment on climate issues, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Wednesday.

US to either reform IEA on climate issues or leave group, energy secretary says

The 30% Club has done something important: it put a number on the table. But I want to challenge the number itself. If women are competent, the right target is not 30%. It is 100%. Boardrooms are not Spartan battlegrounds where gender earns entry. They are environments that reward critical thinki...

Views: The case for moving beyond the 30% Club target

Climate scientists have rung the alarm bells: El Niño is underway, with a "super" El Niño developing in the coming months, bringing intensified drought, heatwaves and heavy rainfall. We’re already seeing the effects of it across the world. In Spain, Italy and France, sweltering summer temper...

Views: El Niño: Who is to blame?

Cutting carbon is particularly difficult for a chemical company because many of its products rely on fossil-based raw materials while lower-carbon alternatives often cost far more than buyers are prepared to pay.

That leaves companies with a few broad options, such as investing in activ...

Industry: Petrochemical companies decarbonisation journey still challenging

Plastic bags and straws labelled as biodegradable, compostable, or environmentally friendly are now a common sight in the market. Unfortunately, the reality is that not all of these claims are entirely true and that the use of these materials may end up causing more harm to the environment than t...

Cover Story: Are biodegradable and compostable plastic the greenest solution?

There are only four years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030, but it is unlikely that all the 17 SDGs will be fulfilled by the deadline. According to the latest report, only 16% of the SDGs are on a positive pathway, and the rest are significantly off track.

Policy: What’s next after the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals?

The likelihood of El Niño developing now exceeds 90%, bringing expectations of a prolonged period of hotter and potentially drier conditions in Malaysia in early 2027. Climate change could further intensify the heat and other weather extremes.

The Super El Niño

Michelle Tee started her working life in the textile manufacturing industry by joining her father’s business in Johor, which specialised in manufacturing uniforms for companies. For the first eight years, Tee was happy whenever she saw batches of uniforms being sent to clients. That meant good sa...

Waste: Tackling the problem of used uniforms

The US Treasury said it will purchase up to US$6 billion (RM24.48 billion) of longer-dated government debt on Thursday, in line with the first such operation under Secretary Scott Bessent’s expanded programme to stem the recent rise in borrowing costs.

US Treasury to buy back up to US$6 bil in longer-dated govt debt

Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor must pay RM67.5 million to Lebanese jeweller Global Royalty Trading SAL for more than 40 pieces of jewellery allegedly missing after a 2018 police raid.

Rosmah vows to resist enforcement of RM67.5m deposit order in missing jewellery suit after losing stay appeal

THE present impasse in Negeri Sembilan must begin with one fundamental fact: Tuanku Muhriz ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir was duly elected, installed and recognised as the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan.

Opinion: Constitutional legitimacy cannot be displaced without due process

Pappajack Bhd (KL:PPJACK) jumped 22% on Wednesday to chart a new all-time high since the pawnbroker’s listing in 2022, before paring most of its intra-day gains.

Pappajack pulls back after early 22% surge to new all-time high

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 23): A large majority of developers are delaying property launches in the remaining months of 2026 as rising construction costs squeeze margins and take-up remains soft.

Most developers delaying launches amid margin squeeze, unsold units

CTOS Digital Bhd (KL:CTOS) said on Wednesday that its cybersecurity system recently detected unauthorised access to an environment supporting its consumer business.

CTOS detects cyber breach, limited consumer data accessed

Two directors of a direct sales company pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here on Wednesday to two charges relating to a pyramid scheme and a breach of direct sales licence conditions between September 2024 and June last year.

Direct selling company directors charged with promoting pyramid scheme

ELECTRICAL engineering services firm HE Group Bhd (KL:HEGROUP) expects to set a new record high order book of RM400 million by the end of the current financial year ending Dec 31, 2026 (FY2026) as a beneficiary of the data centre (DC) boom.

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HE Group rides data centre boom towards RM400 mil order book, seeks recurring income

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 23): theedgemalaysia.com highlighted no stocks with positive momentum and 10 stocks with negative momentum at Bursa Malaysia's afternoon close on Wednesday.

<h3>The stocks with negative momentum were:</h3>

<ul>
	<li>OCK Group Bhd (KL:OCK) — up two and a half sen or 5...

Stocks with momentum on Sept 23, 2026: OCK, Kinergy, Samaiden, WTEC, Cypark, Skyechip, Bintai Kinden, Chuan Huat, Tek Seng, RGT

<a href="https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/819099" target="_blank">https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/819099</a>Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he will not rush into deciding on DAP secretary general Anthony Loke’s offer to resign as transport minister, saying he wants to hear Loke’s explanation first.

Anwar says won’t rush decision on Loke’s resignation, urges DAP not to bow to external pressure 

Malaysia’s retail prices for unsubsidised RON97 and RON95 petrol will rise by 20 sen per litre, while unsubsidised diesel will increase by 15 sen from Thursday (Sept 24) to Sept 30, according to the Finance Ministry.

Unsubsidised fuel prices to rise again from Thursday, petrol up 20 sen and diesel 15 sen

DAP secretary general Anthony Loke said he remains firm in his decision to resign as transport minister.

Loke says sticking with decision to quit, to hand in resignation letter upon return from China

A brief recap of some business news and corporate announcements that made the headlines on Wednesday.

Tenaga, CTOS, Carimin, YTL Power, Aneka Jaringan, Destini, Rimbunan Sawit, PRG, LB Aluminium, Gold Li

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 23): Sushi operator Empire Premium Food Bhd (KL:EMPIRE), which was listed just five months ago, is keeping the door open to future acquisitions in the food and beverage (F&amp;B) sector, backed by its strong balance sheet.

Empire Sushi operator keeps F&B acquisition door open amid expansion push

YTL AI Labs Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of YTL Power International Bhd (KL:YTLPOWR), announced the creation of a dataset of 1.35 million synthetic personas that will help in the development of artificial intelligence models that suit&nbsp;Malaysia's diversity.

YTL AI Labs partners with NVIDIA to create dataset for training Malaysia-context AI   

Top executives of Grab&nbsp;bought more than US$30 million (RM122.34 million) worth of company shares this ​week after the Singapore-based ride hailing and ‌financial service firm's stock slumped to a more than three-year low following a deal to acquire a ​buy-now-pay-later provider.

Grab execs buy back shares after stock hits three-year low on Atome deal

Sunway Construction Group Bhd (KL:SUNCON) was crowned Company of the Year (COY) at The Edge Billion Ringgit Club (BRC) Awards 2026, the financial publication's flagship event to honour the best of Malaysia's listed companies.&nbsp;

Sunway Construction crowned Company of the Year at The Edge BRC awards, PETRONAS honoured for nation building    

The increasingly tangled dispute at PRG Holdings Bhd (KL:PRG) has reached another turning point, with the High Court ordering Premier De Muara Sdn Bhd (PDM) to be wound up.

PRG’s RM64m dispute with shareholder-linked PDM comes to a head as court orders winding-up

OSK Property, together with the Employees Provident Fund of Malaysia (EPF) and construction partner Multiplex, has officially commenced construction on the A$800 million (RM2.25 billion), 67-storey AURA residential tower.

Construction begins on OSK Property’s A$800m AURA tower in Melbourne

EcoSys (Malaysia) Bhd is looking to expand its customer base in India beyond the solar industry into semiconductors, as the industrial solutions provider expects growth opportunities in the country to continue for at least another two to three years.

EcoSys targets semiconductor growth in India

FOR the Gooi family’s 68%-owned Crescendo Corp Bhd (KL:CRESNDO), the data centre boom has provided a powerful catalyst to unlock the value of the Johor-based property developer’s land bank that has been accumulated over decades.

Crescendo’s net profit reached a record RM526.3 million in...

Dr Cornelia C Walther

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